May 2008
TO: Majority Council Members
FROM: Ellen R. Malcolm
DATE: May 15, 2008
Get ready to Power Up!
Last chance to register for Majority Council Conference and annual Washington, D.C., luncheon
Democrats are on track to achieve historic victories in November, and pro-choice Democratic women are at the forefront of sweeping change. With a record number of open House seats, promising races for Senate and governor, and the most important and exciting presidential contest of our lifetime, there is a lot at stake. We’re going to need every ounce of energy to get through the remaining five months of the campaign -- and that's why at EMILY's List we are getting ready to Power Up for the 2008 elections at the annual Majority Council conference June 12 and 13 here in Washington, D.C.
Many of these outstanding candidates and leaders will be on hand to talk with you about their races, their positions on the issues, and their take on the current political environment.
A panel of 2008 House candidates -- Kay Barnes of Missouri, Tracey Brooks of New York, Leslie Byrne of Virginia, Debbie Halvorson of Illinois, Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona, and Suzanne Kosmas of Florida -- will talk about their races and answer your questions about their experiences on the campaign trail. Dinner Thursday night features Gov. Chris Gregoire of Washington, gubernatorial hopefuls Jill Long Thompson of Indiana and Bev Perdue of North Carolina, and Senate candidates Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Kay Hagan of North Carolina -- all running in highly targeted races as incumbents, challengers, and open seat candidates.
Two members of our senior political team, Political Director Jonathan Parker and WOMEN VOTE! Director Maren Hesla, will describe how EMILY's List helped progressive activist Donna Edwards unseat an entrenched incumbent in Maryland's fourth congressional district.
Later, Maren, pollster Molly O'Rourke, and EMILY's List Executive Director Ellen Moran will talk about the key issues of the 2008 campaign and what EMILY's List WOMEN VOTE! is doing to activate the single most important bloc of the Democratic base: women voters.
We'll have a discussion with the publisher and editor of The Nation, Katrina vanden Heuvel, linguist Deborah Tannen (author of the bestseller You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation, among others), and Salon columnist Rebecca Traister about the visual and verbal cues that define women candidates in the media, and meet some of the wonderful women who have benefitted from the support of the EMILY's List Political Opportunity Program for state and local candidates. I will deliver my annual State of the List remarks at a private briefing Friday for Majority Council members only. And EMILY's List's very first winning candidate and the dean of women in the U.S. Senate, Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, will bring the conference to a close at lunch Friday with rousing remarks that will stoke our energy and propel us forward toward victory in November.
Anchoring the conference is our annual spring luncheon on Thursday, June 12. This year's keynote speaker, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, will give her informed views on what the next president will need to do to restore strong diplomatic ties with allies and mend our global image after eight years of failed Bush-Cheney foreign policy. And we'll celebrate with Ohio Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones and Donna Edwards of Maryland, who will soon be the 71st pro-choice Democratic congresswoman elected with help from EMILY's List.
It's not too late to register, but you must move quickly or you will miss this unique opportunity to network with like-minded EMILY's List members who share your dedication to progressive politics. Use the enclosed reply form or register online at www.emilyslist.org. If you would like to take advantage of our special room rate at the Omni Shoreham, please call (800) 842-6664 (THE-OMNI) to make reservations soon, as the block of rooms set aside for EMILY's List is nearly full.
Looking forward to powering up together!
Women win primaries in Indiana, North Carolina
Victory for Hillary in Indiana
Pro-choice Democratic women scored triumphant victories in May 6 primaries in North Carolina and Indiana.
Gubernatorial candidates Bev Perdue (North Carolina) and Jill Long Thompson (Indiana) defeated well-funded primary opponents to win their party's nomination. Perdue won handily in spite of weeks of negative ads run by her opponent. She will face Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory in November as she seeks to hold North Carolina's governorship for Democrats and become the first pro-choice Democratic woman governor of a southern state since Ann Richards. In spite of being vastly outspent, Thompson pulled out a narrow victory against an opponent who had the backing of the Democratic establishment. She is challenging Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels, a millionaire whose attempts to privatize state government have made him unpopular.
Also in North Carolina, state Sen. Kay Hagan handily defeated her primary opponent in her quest to unseat U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole. Democrats are excited about Hagan's prospects. A recent Research 2000 poll (April 28-30) confirms Dole's vulnerability: in spite of near 100 percent name ID, Dole runs only seven points ahead of Hagan -- with 41 percent of voters disapproving of Dole's job performance. A February poll by Elon University showed that only 37 percent of North Carolina voters believe Dole deserves to be re-elected.
EMILY's List WOMEN VOTE! was on the ground in both states, educating and mobilizing women voters. Our pro-choice Democratic women nominees will benefit in November from massive increases in Democratic registration due to highly contested presidential primaries in their states.
At this writing, five states and Puerto Rico have yet to vote in the presidential contest, though West Virginia will have voted by the time you receive this memo. Hillary's victory in Indiana and Senator Obama's victory in North Carolina were largely expected. Democrats in these states are excited and energized to be a part of the process. I will be traveling to some of these states to stump for Hillary.
I don't think anyone expected back in January of 2007 that the battle for the nomination would go on so long -- but given the quality of the two remaining candidates, I am not surprised. We Democrats are making history in this campaign, certain to nominate either the first African American or the first woman presidential candidate in the history of our country. EMILY's List is working hard to make sure that that candidate is Hillary Clinton. It's the culmination of our 23-year history and dream of a lifetime to elect the first woman president. But either way, I am confident that Democrats will come together behind one or the other of these leaders, united in our resolve to defeat John McCain and bring an end to the corrupt, failed policies of the Bush administration that he is certain to continue. And EMILY's List will be leading that charge!
More EMILY's List primaries ahead
We are now in the thick of primary season. Two important contests are coming up June 10, when Chellie Pingree (Maine) and Leslie Byrne (Virginia) are running for open House seats. Chellie is leading a crowded field of six for Maine's first district; the Democratic nominee is favored to win the general election. Leslie faces well-connected and heavily financed county official Gerry Connolly in Virginia's 11th district, which is being vacated by Republican Tom Davis. This seat has been trending Democratic and is favored to go from red to blue in November, but that is by no means guaranteed. Republicans are united behind wealthy accountant Keith Fimian.
In August, EMILY's List candidates have contested primaries in the following states:- Missouri (August 5), where state Sen. Judy Baker is running for the state's ninth district, an open Republican House seat that has been targeted for Democratic takeover. Judy stepped up to challenge the GOP incumbent, Kenny Hulshof, when other Democrats hung back. After Hulshof decided to run for governor, three Democratic men jumped in, pressuring Judy to drop out. She stood firm, outraised the men, and is running strong to win back this seat, which was once in Democratic hands.
- Colorado (August 12), where former state Sen. Joan Fitz-Gerald, the state's first female Senate president, is locked in a tough battle with two incredibly well-funded political novices for a heavily Democratic seat. One of her opponents has already sunk $1 million from his own fortune into his campaign, and has made it clear there’s more where that came from. This race is getting ugly: her opponents know the only way to defeat Joan is to attack, attack, attack. We are working very hard to make sure she has the resources to fight back.
- Arizona (Sept. 2), where former state Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick is running for an open Republican seat that is ripe for takeover. She is leading the Democratic field and is likely to race far-right Republican, Sydney Hay, a wealthy lobbyist for the mining industry who is backed by Right to Life and the anti-choice Susan B. Anthony List.
- New York (Sept. 9), where attorney Tracey Brooks is running for the 21st district, an open Democratic seat. Tracey is a community activist who worked in Sen. Hillary Clinton's Albany office. She is the only woman in the race and has put together an impressive list of local supporters. The filing deadline for this primary is July 10. We are committed to helping this young leader get elected from a seat she can hold for many years and put her on the leadership track in the House.
New news from Maryland's fourth district
Donna Edwards to be seated in this Congress
In February, we celebrated the spectacular primary victory of Donna Edwards, a progressive activist who unseated entrenched incumbent Al Wynn in Maryland's fourth congressional district. Since the general election is pro forma in this heavily Democratic seat, so Donna was as good as elected.
Things changed in March, when Wynn announced that he is leaving Congress in early June, creating an immediate opening. Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley called for a June 17 special election to fill the remaining seven months of Wynn's term, which Donna is virtually guaranteed to win. She will be seated in Congress within days, giving her more seniority than the freshmen who take office next January.
You will have an opportunity to meet this dynamic young leader at the Majority Council conference and hear about how she overcame the odds and ousted an incumbent -- just a few days before she becomes the first African American woman to represent Maryland in Congress!
The November Victory Campaign Fund
As always, I believe the mightiest progressive force in our country is the political power of women -- and EMILY's List has the ability to unleash that power to win in 2008.
As we work together to end the devastating era of Bush-Cheney destruction and corruption, EMILY's List will be a force to bring the Democratic party together, regardless of who wins the Democratic presidential nomination. And we will use the power of women voters to elect a Democratic president and progressive Democratic women and men to all levels of government.
We have so many promising opportunities to change the face of power and elect historic numbers of women to Congress, as governors, and in critical state offices! With your help and support, we will build strong Democratic majorities in Congress and in the states that will help our new president restore progressive values to government and offer real solutions to the serious issues of the day.
EMILY's List created the November Victory Campaign Fund to make sure EMILY's List has the general election resources to fully support our progressive women candidates who are running for federal, state and local office. But we need your help. There is so much to do, and so little time. If we truly want significant victories in November, we have to get going right now.
I am grateful for your steadfast support as we work together to make history and hope you will help us maintain momentum heading into November by supporting our November Victory Campaign Fund.
Thank you for all that you do to ensure that our Democratic women candidates have the resources they need to build working Democratic majorities that will truly move our country forward toward a safer, more secure tomorrow.